I can't believe I still care given what has happened the past two seasons.

Possible starters:

PF: Mbwake
SF: Williams (I hope worked on somethings over the summer)
C: Sampson III
SG: Austin Hollins or Welch
PG: Andre Hollins

yeah last year was a bummer

any incoming of note (andre hollins? is that austin's bro?)

Andre is supposed to be much better than he was rated. He scored an obscene number of points in a game last year against one of the perennial HS powerhouses. No relation to Austin.

We gave up our basketball tickets this year -- the debacle that was last year kind of soured us on continuing. We also added a couple of hockey tickets this year, so it would have been a stretch to afford all the tickets. But I am cautiously optimistic for this year, assuming Rodney actually does something beyond a single highlight reel dunk per game.

haha jumping on that red hot gophers hockey team! ;)

We've been trying to get a second pair for about 10 years now, so when they finally came through, we were pretty happy. Must have been a lot of turnover this year. I guess when the NY Yankees of college hockey start playing more like the Baltimore Orioles, people jump off the bandwagon.

another year for sampson III to prime his skills for the NBA! ha. painful season last year. not sure there's a ton to be excited about this year, but being a gophs basketball fan, i will watch. austin hollins showed promise last year. haven't been paying attention to any recruits they're touting. it'll be weird not to see hoffarber out there jacking up threes anymore. devoe joseph can seek his revenge on tubby this year as part of the basketball powerhouse that is oregon.

The key is Andre Hollins. If he can handle the ball and score, this team might surprise people....I like the bench: Walker, Elliason (10 minutes, hard fouls, a block or two), Coleman, Armelin, the European dude, and Welch or Austin Collins.

Rodney Williams? Do or die.

A couple of 15 point exhibition wins against D2 teams didn't really inspire much confidence. Amazed at how many early games are not televised -- although I probably would be watching the MSU/UNC game on the aircraft carrier tonight anyway.

A couple of 15 point exhibition wins against D2 teams didn't really inspire much confidence.

I agree. Andy Katz at ESPN still thinks they will make the tournament though. He really likes the Mbwake/Sampson front court combo.

I've passed on pre-season tickets so far. I can't get in to NCAA until March.

I think the game on Thursday will be on BTN. But maybe I don't want to see how bad they are.

I can't help but feel that the U is losing the chance at a lot of recruits simply because we don't have a glitzy practice facility like a lot of other schools do.

the U is losing the chance at a lot of recruits simply because we don't have a glitzy practice facility like a lot of other schools do.

chicken or egg...

the egg. THE EGG!

Hell, let's call the practice facility The Egg. Sponsored by Land O'Lakes.

The real question is if we can't even get a $20 million dollar practice facility built, how are we going to come up with the $150 million to replace Williams Arena? Heresy, I know -- but come on! There probably only 8000 unobstructed seats in the whole place, and I really don't think that kids (or fans) are as tied up in "tradition" as they used to be.

Go to hell.

Yeah, didn't think my take would be popular -- but at least we can see the jewel that is the Barn at 6pm on BTN.

Nowhere else to put a preemptive "Crazy NCAA Tournament Player Name" alert = St John's leading scorer is named God's Gift Achiuwa.

Iowa Hawkeyes are better than Minnesota Golden Basketball Players.

Anyone walk away from watching that game enthused about the Big Ten season?

Anyone watch the game at all?

Anyone?

saw highlights. looking deece.

Missed the game, but saw the box score. Mbwake's free throws stuck out, but so did 23 turnovers...yeeesh.

The guards are young. Hopefully they figure it out quickly.

Austin and Andre Hollins showed flashes of competency, but Rodney had his one dunk and little else and got beat to the baseline a bunch of times.

Gophers play basketball like the Wild play hockey -- slow and ugly.

haha!

boring 1st football game.
gophs playing it close w/depaul late in the 2nd half. mbakwe is going to be a beast this year.

Rodney slammed down some serious jams today. Finally going to the hoop with force -- it was nice to see!

Rodney looked hugely improved. One game is small sample size, but his head seemed in the game - that putback at the end was huge.

They were saying Mbakwe is a possibly lottery pick? Isn't he like 26?

Get well soon, Ralph.

The ballhandling and defense were atrocious, but it was nice to see them running up and down. It's funny that Rodney waited until they were playing an athletic team before he became more aggressive going to the basket. He should have been jumping over the previous teams they played. Sampson needs to do a lot more. They will be in a lot of trouble if Mbwake routinely gets into foul trouble.

Man, Indiana State's guards are eating our guys alive in the first half.

Gophers' perimeter defense is awful...I take that back. It's worse than awful. It's abysmal.

FYI, Mychal Thompson is amazing on LA radio. Sports talk genius.

If nothing else, I like the trend of overcoming big deficits rather than coughing up big leads.

I guess Indiana State is supposed to be decent; they can certainly hit the open shots. But man . . . there were some pretty ugly stretches today.

I like Welch running the point?

The Gophers had a 20-10 lead and looked like they were going to run away with it -- and then Dayton went on something like a 32-12 run or something like that. And this was before Mbakwe got hurt. God, they played awful. Like the Philly fans that were calling for Andy Reid's head during the game yesterday, I think this is the year that fans turn on Tubby.

It seems to me that Tubby has a college coach's personality, but plays an NBA style of basketball.

gophers season is for all intensive purposes over. for all you wolves rubes on here, this is like losing derick williams, rickey rubio, and kevin love combined. the team can't compete in the big ten w/o this guy.

mbakwe done

Super duper depressing.

Tubby bears some blame for the Gophers' woes, but between all the eligibility shit and bad injuries at bad times, he's had some pretty raw rolls of the dice. Maybe a different coach would have gotten more out of Sampson or Rodney, or would have kept Devoe and Iverson in the fold. But the Royce White thing didn't seem to be Tubby's idea, nor was Nolen's foot/academics or Mbakwe's knee.

How is Macalester's squad looking this year?

I think the Virginia Tech and USC games showed that those are two really bad teams. App St might not be bad for their conference, but the fact that we were tied with five minutes left says volumes about us. We're soft on the perimeter, and soft inside. I was set to watch the whole game, but after 10 minutes, I just went and did something else.

Did zero of you guys watch this game tonight? Wish I'd caught it... looks like it was a heartbreaker.

Pretty good for playing on the road

i saw the last 5 minutes of regulation, and watched both OTs. julian welch missed a free throw that would of possibly won the game, and then missed a layup in the first OT that i think would've put them ahead late. no more moral victories, they should've come out with a win.

Didn't watch it real close until the end, but the missed layup was the killer. Maverick's shot at the end of regulation was kind of lousy, although he was trying to draw the foul (a call you'll never get in OT on the road). They were down a ton early, so the fact they fought back is worth something.

i missed a layup once. ONCE.

gophers? first big ten win in february or march?

Gus Johnson!

Tubby is dead to me.

*johnny's offspring
1/08/12 7:55 PM gophers? first big ten win in february or march?

I'm gonna go with January.

we shocked the WORLD

sky u ma

how dumb would it be for me to say, "i had a feeling we'd win." because i totally had a feeling we'd win.

i figuered we would get smoked but i like your maroon and gold pride!

trap game!

I watched not one iota -- I jumped off the bandwagon and I will stay jumped until next year.

Glad they won, but I don't think this is going to be a long-term trend.

I happen to be at a bar last night with the game on. It was nice to see them hang on for a nice road win. The young guards played well. It still made me sad, because it made me think "what if Mbwake didn't get hurt".

BTN put something up after the game to the effect of "1st gophers road win vs a top 10 team since 1981". That's crazy.

what about louisville a couple years ago? i swear that was an away game

I think that was a neutral site.

ah yeah yr right pre-season tournament now that i think abt it, i just remembered it not being the barn

man this thread died. i know it's super sunday, but did anyone watch today's game? i missed it. wha happon?

Clicking this thread makes me sad. The last three years have been nothing but disappointment. Tubby has been a huge disappointment. Now even if he goes, who is going to want to come coach here? I fear the U has the "can't win at" label, but I don't really understand why. How did Wisconsin get to the level they're at? Was it simply good coaching hires with Dick Bennett and Bo Ryan? Bah!!

Watched it with little enthusiasm. Both Hollins played really well -- when we were uptempo, we were moving the ball around nice, getting good looks. But then Tubby puts in the plodding half-court offense, and fun just dies.

I think Tubby needs to get the same ultimatum that Lucia did on the hockey side -- fire the assistant that is your buddy, or else you'll both be standing in the unemployment line. Five years like this, and "we're gonna keep doing what we're doing" isn't going to cut it. Saul needs to find a new job, or else we need to evaluate the whole program at the top.

And Flip ain't doing much these days.

Flip, you're the gophs only hope. Even if we win this tournament we'd be fortunate to make to the NIT.

You win the tournament, you're in the NCAA's. But you can't, because Iowa is also playing in the tournament. Enjoy your Tubbyocracy, sheeple.

IOWA? No way. Now I have to root for Tom Izzo and that makes me feel dirty.

M-I-N-N-E-S-O-T-A!!!!!!!!!!!

gophs lose in overtime. had a real shot to beat the hottest team in the big ten. dre hollins looks like a gamer, i'm excited to see him improve next year.

NCAA next week, time to get the pools going.

//thread til next year.

Golden Gophers absolutely dismantling Miami right now in the NIT.

Couldn't decide last night if it was sadder that there is such a thing as the NIT or that I was watching my alma mater play in such a thing as the NIT.

I saw the Gophers win the NIT in person in 1998 at Madison Square Garden.

I'm so sorry.

Nah, we were in NY for spring break and bought the tickets from a scalper for real cheap. Fun, fun, fun.

just kidding, obviously. i probably watched it on t.v.

You know where they should have the NIT next year? THE BRICK

Remember Royce White? He's declaring for the draft...shocker.

Ah man, I was really hoping that he'd spend another season at Iowa State. They really looked good in that UConn game and I was excited to see what another year might bring.

man, i knew he was doing well down there, i had no idea how well. apparently he led the team in points, rebounds, assists, block and steals. fuck.

I read potential lottery pick.

IMAGE REMOVED - CLICK TO VIEW

best of the worst, worst of the best

The NIT will be won by Iowa.

i don't think there's a hockey thread, but the gophs are up 1-0 on NoDak!

Mbwake was granted a 6th year of eligibility. Next year may not be so bad.

*johnny's offspring:

Hockey talk is in the "Yeo, MN Wild Raps! (2011-2012 Hockey Talk)" thread.

thanks WoB, that probably makes more sense.

TONIGHT! 8 PM! NYC! ON THE DEUCE! AGAINST THE PAC-12 CHAMPIONS!

How does the PAC 12 champ not get in to the NCAA? I'm sure they lost in their tournament, but you'd think they would have received an invitation...

Poor man's Final Four!!!

The Pac-10 is no longer a major conference in basketball.

Yeah, I read it's the first time it has happened. Methinks they'll have a chip on their shoulder.

I wonder if every year the winner of the NIT is like, "Ha! Suck it! We won! We don't even belong in this shitty tournament! Woo-hoo!"

Ask Clem Haskins. He brought the crown back to Dinkytown not once, but twice!

Keep an eye out for Stop the Presses. Row 4. Somewhere. I'm hoping he will be wearing a suit and sunglasses.

Trying to watch the game online on ESPN3, and all I'm getting is audio.

They are laying the smack down right now. Loving it.

At the risk of sounding cynical, Washington is terrible. No Big 10 team would allow the Gopher guards to get in the lane so easily.

Looks like I'll be bringing an umbrella to my parade. Thhhhhhhhbbbbbbt, FHtB!

Sorry, seamonster. I'm just trying to temper my expectations for this year.

cripes almighty that was too close.

A win is a win? 6 seed vs. a 1? I'll take it.

best of the worst

dre hollins is the real deal. dude makes all his free throws in clutch moments. he made a ridiculous bank shot after driving the lane during the last minute of regulation. julian welch at the line the clinch the game is a bad omen. i know it's the NIT and means little, but this has been a fun string of games. might as well try to win the whole thing, even if it's the losers bracket. cool.

worst of the best! Actually, I really got into this game. This little run will be beneficial towards the young guys in terms of confidence and experience. Yes, Washington's defense was bad, but I was really impressed with the passing in the first half. If Dre Hollins can consistently get into the lane and dump it to Mbwake and Rodney, this team might be pretty good next year.

JESUS that was a hellacious but awesome game. It's harder to watch them crumble under the press in real life when you're surrounded by Washington fans.

Still Dre Day.

TONIGHT! 6 PM! NYC! ESPN! BRING ON THE CARDINAL!

uhhh....

One shining moment...

Fitting end to the season

Tubby talked to LSU... Don't let the door hit you on the way out

hmmm, yeah man this has been such a crazy disappointment. i remember calling my cousin the day we got tubby, we going nuts.

it's not losing tubby that scares me, it's who the U will pick to replace him.

I am of the opinion that we should just let him go. Five years, one NCAA bid -- heck, Monson achieved that!

Flip Saunders isn't doing anything. I seriously think that would be way cool.

Flip can coach, and he'd have more name recognition than any college coach that would come here.

Not knowledgeable enough to know how his coaching style would translate to big ten or how he'd recruit

Fuck. Two weeks ago I would have been fine with Tubby leaving. But now with Trevor coming back and the chance of that Arizona st transfer coming...why do I continue to ride this roller coaster?!?

FLIIIIIIP!